"I'm an emotional person. Sometimes I can't help it," he said. "The (2000) draft was tough, and it's tough for a lot of guys. You have these high expectations that you're going to be picked at a certain place and then it doesn't happen. But I was thinking -- you know, my parents were there with me. And I have such a great relationship with them. They've been to so many of my games and practices and supported me over the years, and just thinking about sharing that moment with them, and then seeing the excitement that we've had for an 11-year career, I think that's the emotional part of it."

"Weâre always in touch. You kind of leave it up to the veteran guys to make contact with some of the younger players and coordinate workouts and so forth," he said. "Hopefully, [Judge Nelsonâs ruling on a stay] brings a little more clarity whether itâs today or Monday whatâs going actually going to happen. It would make things easier for players if we were actually able to go down and throw at the stadium, instead of figuring out what high school youâre going to."